It is already August, and autumn has begun. However, there has not been much rain in the entire northern region. During the plum rain season, it rained once in the Yangtze River Basin, which greatly alleviated the drought situation in the Yangtze River Basin.
However, it only reaches the Yangtze River Basin. According to previous years, the subtropical high pressure should continue to move northward, bringing rain and heat to the northern region.
However, the high temperature was moving north, but there was no rain at all. It just rained a little like sprinkling water, and it ended without even moistening the earth.
A terrible drought is raging throughout the northern region, with Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Beizhili, Shandong and the grassland provinces experiencing extreme drought.
The whole Henan is covered with red land for thousands of miles, the vegetation is withered and yellow, and there is not a trace of green in sight.
However, for the people of the Ming Dynasty, the impact on their lives is not great, because the court has exempted this year's land tax, and also shipped a lot of grain. Every household has been given grain, enough to eat until the New Year. At the same time, in the grain store
Food is also very abundant, and prices have not changed at all as before.
For people living in the city, life is not much different from previous years. The only thing is that they often lament that this year is indeed too hot and too dry.
The water supply in the factory is sometimes not guaranteed because the water in the Yellow River has almost stopped flowing.
But fortunately, the order is normal, the factories are still roaring, the business of the merchant houses is not bad, they are very busy, there is enough food, everyone has a job, and the social order is still very stable.
Only the old farmers in rural areas lamented that their work this year was in vain. God just refused to rain, and there was nothing they could do.
The two crops of wheat sown have failed, and there will be no harvest this year.
This also made countless old people couldn't help but sigh.
That is to say, the current era is good. In the past, the entire Henan Province would have been full of hungry people, exchanging children for food, and there would have been refugees fleeing famine everywhere.
Now that there is such a severe drought, everyone is still living well. There is no delay in eating and drinking when it is time. Every household has enough food and money. They have no worries about eating and drinking, and have things to do, and there is no chaos at all.
However, people have food to eat and things to do, so there can be no chaos.
But for mice, such a severe drought also puts them in an unprecedented crisis.
A severe drought has caused even the grass and trees to wither and turn yellow, let alone the dealers. This is undoubtedly catastrophic for rats that rely heavily on these.
Rats in the wilderness mainly feed on grass roots, grass seeds, small insects and the like. Now that the land is bare and the vegetation is withered and yellow, the rats' food is suddenly gone.
Large numbers of rats began to migrate to densely populated and urban areas.
Because only in these places can we find food and survive.
In Kaifeng City, people found that there were many more rats than before, so many that even during the day, many rats could be seen running around in the streets and alleys.
At night, there are even more rats, everywhere, frantically looking for anything to eat, so that at night, there are always various sounds of beating rats and chasing rats.
However, this is only an insignificant part of the rat army. There are still a large number of rats gathering in invisible places, and the terrible plague begins to spread silently.
In just a few days, medical clinics here in Kaifeng City began to receive a large number of patients with symptoms such as high fever, swelling of the throat, coughing up blood, and pneumonia.
At first, it did not attract the attention of the Kaifeng government, but soon, a large number of people in the entire city of Kaifeng showed the same symptoms.
Medical clinics in Kaifeng City were suddenly overcrowded, as was Kaifeng Hospital. There were so many people that there was a long queue outside the hospital.
At this time, the Kaifeng government finally realized that there might be a plague in Kaifeng.
So he quickly sent a telegram to the capital to request instructions.
However, Kaifeng is an extremely important transportation hub and core. There are a huge number of trains, vehicles, goods and people coming and going here every day.
A few days were enough for the plague in Kaifeng to quickly spread to other parts of the Ming Dynasty.
The incubation period of the plague is very short, and it only takes a few days for it to break out. Plague began to appear in major cities in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the north, and the scale was extremely large and overwhelming, sweeping through the remaining clouds.
momentum.
All of a sudden, medical clinics in major cities were overcrowded, with people queuing up everywhere waiting for treatment. At the same time, people with high fever, coughing up blood, swollen throats, etc. could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys.
At the same time, the mortality rate of plague was extremely high. Without effective treatment, the mortality rate of plague was as high as 30%-50%. Suddenly, the entire Ming Dynasty encountered an unprecedented terrible crisis.
There were patients everywhere in the city. At the same time, people began to die from the disease. Every city was covered with a terrifying haze. A large number of people working in the city began to flee the city and return to their hometowns to escape the plague.
Suddenly, factories stopped working, businesses stopped operating, and stores closed. Xinxue School immediately activated its response mechanism and announced a temporary class suspension, requiring all students to stay at home as much as possible, gather less, and go out to less people.
Places with dense traffic to avoid contracting the plague.
At the same time, a notice was sent to the parents of the students as soon as possible, explaining the seriousness of the matter to everyone, and telling everyone to go to crowded places as little as possible, pay attention to family hygiene, bathe frequently, and eliminate rats.
, disinfection, etc.
This plague was the most terrifying plague in the Ming Dynasty in the past few decades.
There was silence in the study room of Qianqing Palace. Emperor Hongzhi and his ministers were all very worried now.
Not to mention that the drought has not been alleviated at all, a large-scale plague has now appeared. The situation has spread to major cities in the Ming Dynasty, and the situation is extremely serious.
Now the number of people who have died is unknown. The originally bustling city has become extremely depressed and deserted in just a few days, as if everything has been suspended.
Factories are closed, schools are closed, and shops are closed. Far away, there is a lot of traffic, and the streets with people coming and going have become empty. Only the dead in the family are on the street to deal with the afterlife of their relatives.
Because so many people died, the entire street was deserted, and the unburned papyrus scattered in the wind, making it look like an apocalyptic scene.
"Your Majesty, large-scale plague has occurred in all major cities in the Ming Dynasty. The situation is very serious. A large number of people have been infected. A large number of people have begun to die. Major hospitals and hospitals are overcrowded."
Han Wen looked grim, this year has been really rough.
The Great Cold was followed by the Great Drought, and the Great Drought was followed by the Great Plague, which swept the entire Ming Dynasty. Now the ministers in the court were panicked, and they suddenly didn’t know what to do.
"Everyone, let's talk~"
Emperor Hongzhi glanced at the minister in front of him. He was extremely anxious in his heart. He didn't know what to do at this moment because the situation was so serious.
With the development of industrialization in the Ming Dynasty, the population is slowly concentrating in cities, and the proportion of urban population has exceeded half. This is very different from before.
In the past, the population was mainly scattered in rural areas, and population movement was restricted. If a plague occurred in one place, it would be difficult to quickly spread to the entire Ming Dynasty. It only needed to impose a mandatory quarantine on a certain place and wait.
, when time passes, the natural plague will disappear.
But now, this is a plague that has spread throughout the Ming Dynasty. The population in the city is concentrated, and the transportation is convenient and the circulation is fast, so it spreads extremely quickly.
A few days ago, we only received a telegram of the plague from Kaifeng. In just a few days, it spread all over the Ming Dynasty. It was blooming everywhere, and the situation in every big city was very serious.
Faced with such a situation, everyone was immediately at a loss and didn't know what to do.
Because this is a situation that has never been encountered before.
Even when smallpox was introduced from Huanghuangzhou, it was not so serious. When schistosomiasis was rampant in Jiangnan, it was nothing but a big deal.
After hearing Emperor Hongzhi's words, everyone immediately bowed their heads and fell silent.
Faced with the current situation, no one knew what to do, and they all looked sad and at a loss.
"Well, at the end of last year, Liu Jin reminded me of this in some memos, but I didn't pay attention to it at the time. I didn't expect it to come true."
"This year is not only a severe drought, but also accompanied by a large-scale plague. It is really a natural disaster."
"If only I had listened to Liu Jin's words at that time and made some relevant preparations early, maybe I wouldn't be so at a loss to deal with it now."
Looking at the silent ministers, Emperor Hongzhi thought of Liu Jin again.
Liu Jin reminded himself at the end of last year that there might be a severe drought, and at the same time, there might be a plague accompanying the severe drought. At that time, he felt that with the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, even if something happened, it would be easy enough to deal with it.
Now that there is such a large-scale plague, it’s hard to know what to do.
"Your Majesty, Liu Jin is calling!"
When the ministers were silent and didn't know what to do, someone from Xiaohuangmen hurriedly took the latest telegram from Liu Jin and said.
"Quick, bring it here!"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately said as if grasping a life-saving straw.
Xiao Huangmen quickly handed it over respectfully.
Emperor Hongzhi took the telegram and read it quickly. As he read it, his eyebrows gradually relaxed and he nodded slightly.
"Immediately follow what is said above. Telegraph orders to all parts of the Ming Dynasty to be implemented. Responsibilities will be assigned to people. If there is a problem, the corresponding officials will be dealt with!"
